Montefiascone 2016
With less than four months to go, spaces at the 26th Montefiascone Conservation Summer School programme are almost all gone, and preparations are well underway for this years courses. Just in case you missed it, the 2016 programme is as follows:
25-29th July Re-creating the Medieval Palette, Cheryl Porter
This class will study the colours (made from rocks, minerals, metals, insects and plants) that were processed to produce the colours used by artists throughout the medieval era. The focus will mostly (though not exclusively) be on manuscript art -Islamic and European- and participants will re-create the colours using original recipes. Illustrated lectures will address the history, geography, chemistry, iconography and conservation issues. Practical making and painting sessions will follow these lectures. No previous experience is necessary.
More details about this wonderful course can be found in Puneeta Sharma's post on the CBL Conservation blog.
1-5th August The Unicorn Binder, Jim Bloxam and Shaun Thompson
This course will focus on the work of the Unicorn Binder, so named because of his use of a distinctive finishing tool cut to the design of a small woodland unicorn. He is known to have bound at least seventy volumes between 1484 and 1505, of which eighteen are in Cambridge libraries. His work can be securely placed in late fifteenth-century Cambridge, where several bindery workshops produced bindings of blind-tooled leather over wooden boards, with clasps to hold the volume closed. The rich, warm, mahogany colour of the leather, seen on Cambridge bindings, sets them apart from the other main fifteen-century bookbinding centres of London and Oxford. The tutors have examined extensively all eighteen Unicorn bindings in Cambridge libraries and have looked at more from other collections in the UK. The Unicorn Binder successfully exploits the high quality materials at his disposal, both structurally and aesthetically, to produce some of the finest work seen in Cambridge bindings.
15-19 August Carolingian Binding, Michael Burke
The Carolingian binding style was used in western Europe from the seventh century and is often characterized by the paths of the slips of the sewing supports as they lace into the wooden boards. This course will focus on the late Carolingian binding structure of a manuscript held at the Canterbury Cathedral Library Archives, written and bound in Canterbury in the late eleventh century. Participants will recreate a model of the book in order to study and understand the distinctive features of a Carolingian binding, the historical influences upon it, and the ways that it differed from the structure of the Romanesque bindings that followed it.
The Canterbury binding features wooden boards of quarter-sawn oak, sewing supports of alum tawed leather, sewn endbands and tab ends, and a covering of alum tawed leather. All materials can be supplied at nominal cost. Participants will need to bring basic bookbinding tools. Some knowledge and experience of bookbinding or book history would be useful.
25-29th July Re-creating the Medieval Palette, Cheryl Porter
More details about this wonderful course can be found in Puneeta Sharma's post on the CBL Conservation blog.
This course will focus on the work of the Unicorn Binder, so named because of his use of a distinctive finishing tool cut to the design of a small woodland unicorn. He is known to have bound at least seventy volumes between 1484 and 1505, of which eighteen are in Cambridge libraries. His work can be securely placed in late fifteenth-century Cambridge, where several bindery workshops produced bindings of blind-tooled leather over wooden boards, with clasps to hold the volume closed. The rich, warm, mahogany colour of the leather, seen on Cambridge bindings, sets them apart from the other main fifteen-century bookbinding centres of London and Oxford. The tutors have examined extensively all eighteen Unicorn bindings in Cambridge libraries and have looked at more from other collections in the UK. The Unicorn Binder successfully exploits the high quality materials at his disposal, both structurally and aesthetically, to produce some of the finest work seen in Cambridge bindings.
The tutors will enable the course participants to recreate a binding based on the work of the Unicorn Binder. Processes will include sewing the text-block, sewing endbands, shaping and attaching the boards and covering with leather. The covered books will be blind tooled with replica finishing tools based on the Unicorn Binder’s designs and have brass fittings and fixtures applied. Complementing the practical aspect of the course the tutors will seek to set the binding into context. The course will give an over-view of late English fifteenth-century structures and examine previous influences on their evolution and how they, in turn, influenced later bindings.
Some knowledge and experience of bookbinding or book history would be useful, but is not essential. All materials will be supplied at a nominal cost. Participants will need to bring basic bookbinding tools. The tutors will contact prospective students well in advance of the class with suggested readings and a list of recommended tools.
8-12th August An al-Andalus Islamic Binding, Ana Beny, Kristine Rose Beers, with lecture from Dr Alison Ohta
From the 8th to the 15th century, the Iberian Peninsula was a cosmopolitan society governed by Muslims, where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together. The free exchange and influences between these cultures are reflected in the specific characteristics of the Andalusian book structure.
8-12th August An al-Andalus Islamic Binding, Ana Beny, Kristine Rose Beers, with lecture from Dr Alison Ohta
In 1492 the kingdom of Granada surrendered to the Catholic monarchs and the period of Islamic rule in Spain came to an end. The majority of books from the large libraries were burnt and destroyed, but a small number of manuscripts were hidden or moved to safer locations.
The marriage of cultures exemplified by the Andalusian binding typology can be found in a number of the manuscripts that survive. In this course, participants will make an accurate model of an exquisite example of the Andalusian binding structure, found recently in the village of Hornachos in the southwest of Spain. Produced at the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century, this tiny devotional prayer manuscript contains a collection of prayers and chapters from the Qur’an along with a number of illustrations. It is likely it was considered to have talismanic properties, providing protection to those who carried it. Now held in the Extremadura Library, this manuscript demonstrates the significant variations made to sewing, endbands, treatment of the spine, and the covering process characteristic of the Andalusian structure. It also bears witness to the Coptic heritage of Islamic binding traditions, and provides further evidence that the Islamic binding is not a casebinding structure.
The course will be complemented by illustrated presentations, and a lecture by Dr Alison Ohta, Director of the Royal Asiatic Society in London. All materials will be provided though basic bookbinding tools will be needed. Some knowledge of historic bookbinding would be helpful, but is not essential.
The marriage of cultures exemplified by the Andalusian binding typology can be found in a number of the manuscripts that survive. In this course, participants will make an accurate model of an exquisite example of the Andalusian binding structure, found recently in the village of Hornachos in the southwest of Spain. Produced at the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century, this tiny devotional prayer manuscript contains a collection of prayers and chapters from the Qur’an along with a number of illustrations. It is likely it was considered to have talismanic properties, providing protection to those who carried it. Now held in the Extremadura Library, this manuscript demonstrates the significant variations made to sewing, endbands, treatment of the spine, and the covering process characteristic of the Andalusian structure. It also bears witness to the Coptic heritage of Islamic binding traditions, and provides further evidence that the Islamic binding is not a casebinding structure.
The course will be complemented by illustrated presentations, and a lecture by Dr Alison Ohta, Director of the Royal Asiatic Society in London. All materials will be provided though basic bookbinding tools will be needed. Some knowledge of historic bookbinding would be helpful, but is not essential.
The Carolingian binding style was used in western Europe from the seventh century and is often characterized by the paths of the slips of the sewing supports as they lace into the wooden boards. This course will focus on the late Carolingian binding structure of a manuscript held at the Canterbury Cathedral Library Archives, written and bound in Canterbury in the late eleventh century. Participants will recreate a model of the book in order to study and understand the distinctive features of a Carolingian binding, the historical influences upon it, and the ways that it differed from the structure of the Romanesque bindings that followed it.
The Canterbury binding features wooden boards of quarter-sawn oak, sewing supports of alum tawed leather, sewn endbands and tab ends, and a covering of alum tawed leather. All materials can be supplied at nominal cost. Participants will need to bring basic bookbinding tools. Some knowledge and experience of bookbinding or book history would be useful.
Costs: £445 UKP per week for all tuition (which is in English)
Scholarship: The Nicholas Hadgraft Montefiascone Scholarship is awarded each year by Conservation-by-Design. This year's winner will be announced shortly on the Conservation-by Design website.
For further information, contact Cheryl Porter: chezzaporter@yahoo.com or consult the project website: www.monteproject.com
Comments
Post a Comment